As far as the concept of art is concerned, music, painting, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy and even literature are all included. As far as art itself is concerned, both western art and China art have a long history of development, showing different styles and characteristics in different times, so it is difficult to generalize. As far as the origin of art is concerned, neither western art nor China art simply originated from landscapes or figures. Rock paintings, pottery paintings and murals first appeared in Chinese and Western painting art, and bronze decorative patterns, lacquer paintings and silk paintings appeared in China Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In ancient Greece, there were also mosaics. On the subject of painting, totem worship or daily life is the main theme of China and the West. For example, murals in ancient Greece mostly describe secular life. In a word, Chinese and western art materials are extensive and there are many similarities.
As far as painting art is concerned, landscape painting is an important theme of China's art. Undeniably, flower-and-bird painting and figure painting are also important threads of China's painting art. Of course, western art shows the beauty of the human body in large quantities, and so does China art, so Mr. Lin Yutang's statement is biased. Starting from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China's art emphasized "simplicity and harmony" and "paying attention to people's main role and the embodiment of life value". Different from China's art, Western art pays attention to "elegance and beauty" and expresses "beauty of human body". The pursuit of human beauty in the west is not only reflected in the love of female physical beauty, such as the classical sculpture Venus by Milos in ancient Greece, but also the physical beauty of men is highly sought after by western artists. Such as the discus thrower by Miron in ancient Greece and the sculpture David by Michelangelo in the Renaissance. Artists not only pay attention to physical beauty, but also pay attention to the beauty of expressing people's own vitality and strength.
It is human nature to pursue beauty. China's art is also full of works expressing human beauty, and figure painting is also a major branch of China's painting art. For example, Luo Shen Fu by Gu Kaizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Han Xizhai's Night Banquet by Gu in the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, compared with western art's pursuit of similarity, China's painting art pays more attention to both form and spirit. Compared with a large number of western nude arts, China, influenced by traditional ethics, is more subtle in expressing the beauty of human nature. At the same time, the highly developed body art in the west has not obscured the light of other arts. In western painting art, landscape painting started late, and it was not until the Renaissance that European landscape painting gradually emerged. However, it doesn't mean that the western landscape painting art is weak, but it just appeared later than China. However, once it appears, it is unstoppable. After it reached maturity in the17th century, it influenced many schools of writers such as impressionism and post-impressionism. French geographer Berquet once said, "Only two civilizations in history have created' landscape paintings' focusing on mountains and rivers." One is China in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the other is Europe in Renaissance. "
In Chinese painting, the development of landscape painting is spectacular, and the concept of landscape painting originated in Wei and Jin Dynasties. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, landscape painting became an independent school. During the Northern Song Dynasty, landscape painting reached its peak and became a major branch of Chinese painting. Later, literati paintings were often used by literati to express their personal temperament and entrust their arms. Creating and appreciating landscape paintings has become an important way of life for literati to cultivate their body and mind and temperament. Why can landscape painting come from behind and become an important thread of China's painting?
? Because art itself is influenced by politics, economy, culture, thoughts and so on. Xu regarded Zhuang Xuesi as the spiritual foundation of China's landscape painting in China's Artistic Spirit. Taoist thought, represented by Zhuangzi, pursues seclusion and birth. Reflected in landscape painting, literati express their transcendental thoughts and pursuit of free spirit with the help of painting. When the literati poured their thoughts, emotions and spirits into painting, it naturally promoted the development and maturity of landscape painting. Later, Neo-Confucianism, which was produced by the integration of foreign Buddhist thoughts, became the important spiritual core of landscape painting, and the idea of taking morality as the ultimate concern finally shaped the aesthetic paradigm of China's landscape painting. "When the creation of landscape painting becomes a part of expressing the principles of nature and the universe, the appreciation of landscape painting becomes an' aesthetic' form of Neo-Confucianism." In this way, the status of landscape painting in China's painting is naturally higher and higher.